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Race to the Finish

If you want to build a world-class Formula One racetrack in challenging conditions, your first call is likely to be to Bickhardt Bau AG, a 1,600-person German firm based in Kirchheim that specializes in roadway and racetracks.

If you want to build a world-class Formula One racetrack in
challenging conditions, your first call is likely to be to Bickhardt Bau AG, a
1,600-person German firm based in Kirchheim that specializes in roadway and
racetracks. Bickhardt Bau is one of the most experienced Formula One firms and
is especially noted for overcoming construction challenges in exotic locations.
The Shanghai International Circuit, for example, where Bickhardt designed and
staked the binder and wearing courses, was built in swampy conditions and
required approximately 340,000 cubic meters (444,700 cubic yards) of expanded
polystyrene (EPS) to stabilize top layers. Bickhardt also built the Middle
East’s first Formula One track, in Bahrain. The firm’s work has powerful
admirers; the vice-president of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, Norbert Haug, has
said of the Bickhardt’s Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg, which biannually
holds the Formula One, German Grand Prix, “I don’t know of any other racetrack
that is as even as Hockenheim−it was created in ‘racing speed’ and is of the
very highest quality.”

Yet even while the firm is comfortable with tough conditions in far-flung
corners of the world, the Yas Marina Circuit, in Abu Dhabi, was unique. Start
with a combination of extraordinarily high temperatures and humidity and add a
lack of local roadway material, and you have a difficult project. But there was
an additional factor to consider: Bickhardt was asked to complete the
construction, from breaking ground to a race-ready track, in just one year.
Could the firm rise to the challenge?

Abu Dhabi is the largest of the seven United Arab Emirates, comprising
about 80 percent of the young country’s area. (The UAE was founded in 1971.)
About 70 percent of Abu Dhabi is coastal desert, but since the Emirate controls
huge oil reserves, it’s extraordinarily well developed−the city of Abu Dhabi
boasts a Manhattan-like skyline that includes some of the world’s most
spectacular modern buildings.

Temperatures are extreme, and so is humidity. The year-round average
temperature is 27ºC (80.6ºF), and the coastal location pushes humidity to 80
percent. By comparison, the year-round average in Las Vegas is just 19ºC
(66.2ºF) with much lower humidity. For further comparison, a typical steam
sauna is about 50ºC (122ºF) and 100 percent humidity.

Heat this high seriously affects roadway construction. Staking was done only
during relatively cool morning and evening time periods, and asphalt was only
poured at night. During summer months, no work at all was done from noon to 3
p.m. “It takes time to acclimatize, and one has to drink plenty of water,” says
Horst Walther, Bickhardt’s survey division manager. “Also, we had to learn to
work slower, which is very hard for Germans!”

Bickhardt had 25 employees onsite in Abu Dhabi during the project. The survey
team included survey engineer Markus Bolaender and his assistant Jürgen
Heinemann, supported by Frank Straub, a dedicated staff member back in
Kirchheim. All of the team members, including Project Manager Frank Dittrich,
were in Abu Dhabi from July 2008 to August 2009, working six days a week. “On
the seventh day they would get a good night’s rest and do washing, emailing,
etc.,” says Walther, who oversaw survey operations from Kirchheim. “And they
did take one sightseeing trip into the desert. But mainly, they worked.”

The
Yas Marina Circuit is designed by Hermann Tilke, which is a little like
having Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus design one’s golf course. Tilke is a
former winning racer, and his tracks−he’s designed more than 20 from
scratch−are known for long straight sections and tight hairpin curves, which he
believes encourages overtaking. Yas Marina (which is built on an artificial
island) is no exception; after turn seven, the track features the second-longest
“straight” on the Formula One calendar. This section has recorded top speeds of
up to 320 kmh (200 mph). Yas Marina is also one of the largest tracks overall,
with a total length of 5.53 km (3.43 miles), 12-15 meter (40-50 feet) track
widths, and 20 spectacular turns. Formula One tracks are highly engineered, and
Yas Marina incorporates nearly one million tons of subbase and 200,000 tons of
asphalt.

Even on a typical highway, a sudden bump or pothole can be a shock; in Formula
One racing, where speeds well over 290 kmh (180 mph) are common, they’re a
disaster that must be avoided at all costs. Consequently, tolerances are
exceptionally tight. “At ground level, all surfaces had to be within four
centimeters (1.5 inches) of design,” says Walther. “Subbase had to be within
three centimeters (1.2 inches), granular subbase had to be within 2 centimeters
(0.8 inches), and the final surface had to be extraordinarily flat−in any four
meters (13.1 feet) of track, no more than 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) of
deviation was permissible.”

Yas Marina was a perfect storm of project challenges: a remote site with an
extreme climate, very tight tolerances, and an even tighter construction
schedule. But it turned out to be all in a day’s−or rather, year’s−work for
Bickhardt Bau AG.

At
the start of the project, Caterpillar machines equipped with Trimble GCS900
Grade Control Systems ensured that the ground level met the required
tolerances.

Control
was established with very long GPS observations by a Trimble 5800 GPS
Receiver, and the control net was made up of concrete monuments spaced 100
meters (328 feet) apart and set deep to minimize the effect of high surface
temperatures. Spirit leveling was performed to verify and tighten vertical
measurements.

The Trimble 5800 was used to stake the ground level and the drainage system.
Other staking was done with a Trimble 5600 Total Station and a Trimble SPS730
Universal Total Station (UTS), and the SPS730 was also used to control the
Trimble GCS900 Grade Control System that guided earth movers and graders on the
site.

Several strategies were used to achieve the precision needed, and for quality
control. Calculations were performed by experienced staff in Germany, using
CARD/1, a proprietary CAD system developed by the German firm IB&T. Data
were emailed to the site each day. “This system worked very well,” Walther
says. “The entire project was calculated in Germany, and the set-out data
always got to us on time. The design digital terrain models allowed excellent
control and formed the basis for all subsequent stakeout and machine control
work. Even last-minute changes were adapted to quickly, and a centralized
document management system kept all stakeholders informed of the current
project status.”

Staking was only done during relatively cool parts of the day, with constant
checks to multiple benchmarks. Walther says the Trimble GCS900 and SPS730
worked very well together: “The SPS730 was designed to work dynamically with
very little delay, and it really performed well. It was very quick and exact
with the GCS900, and we were easily within tolerance on the subbase
levels−checking with the Trimble 5600 confirmed that.”

Paving was done with the “hot on hot” method, which required three Vögele
paving machines to work simultaneously along with six Hamm steel rollers, all
imported (with all other equipment) by a container ship assembled in Hamburg.
To counter heat, all paving was done at night by the light of the largest
permanent lighting system ever created for a sports venue. “With all the steel
rollers operating, it looked like a race,” jokes Walther. “So who gets all the
championship points?”

The
track’s first “race” with steel drum rollers.

Final
track layout consisted of 30 cm (11.8 inches) of crushed stone base, 20 cm (7.9
inches) of granular subbase, 8 cm (3.14 inches) of binders, and 4 cm (1.6
inches) of wearing course. Since there is little but sand to work with in Abu
Dhabi, most of this material was imported from the United Kingdom and Malaysia.
For example, all the gravel used on the track surface is known as “Graywacke
Aggregate” and came from the Bayston Hill Quarry in Shropshire, England.
(Graywacke is prized by Formula One drivers and circuit bosses for its high
level of grip.) All asphalt was mixed on site in a batch plant operated by MKW,
a Bickhardt subsidiary.

“Maximum precision, perfect workmanship, passion, optimum equipment and the
necessary expertise were the solid foundation of the high quality we were able
to achieve,” Walther says. “Add to that the team spirit of all the employees
involved, including the 16 locals who joined our staff for the duration, and
you know why we are able to do what we do so well.”

Built on Yas Island,
the Yas Marina Circuit is the anchor of a very ambitious development. In
addition to the racetrack, the island includes a theme park, water park, marina,
residences, hotels and beaches. The track itself has four grandstand areas and
passes by the marina and underneath the Yas Marina Hotel. It’s only the second
Formula One Circuit in the Middle East, but is already a very popular and busy
venue.

The
Trimble 5600 Total Station was an important component that helped Bickhardt Bau
achieve the tight track tolerances.

Since
then, the track has become the home of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, held in
November as the last race on the Formula One calendar. In 2009, the event was
the first to begin in the daytime and end at night; to ensure a smooth
transition, floodlights were on from the beginning of the race. In 2010, Sebastian
Vettel sealed the driver’s championship by winning his second race at Abu
Dhabi.

Throughout its inaugural seasons, the circuit has won praise from drivers.
“Every corner is unique,” says Nico Rosberg, and two-time world champion
Fernando Alonso says that Abu Dhabi is, “… enjoyable, because there is always
something to do.” Notably, there have been no complaints of unevenness in the
track.

“The
complete surveying on this project was made possible by the intelligent fusion
of modern components like GPS, total stations, and machine control,” Walther
says. “This allowed a single survey to manage the site very effectively and
comply with all tolerances.”

Civilizations are sometimes defined by their sports venues, just as Rome was
defined by its Coliseum. In the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi has created an
excellent emblem of the state it has become: modern, powerful, extremely fast,
and able to import the resources it needs. And, thanks to the survey team of
Bickhardt Bau AG, very
precise.

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